<s>
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
:	O
Kuros	O
-	O
Visions	O
of	O
Power	O
is	O
a	O
platforming	O
and	O
adventure	O
video	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
(	O
NES	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
third	O
and	O
final	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
series	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
sequel	O
to	O
the	O
1989	O
title	O
Ironsword	B-Application
:	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
II	O
;	O
it	O
also	O
follows	O
the	O
1990	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
release	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
X	O
:	O
The	O
Fortress	B-Application
of	I-Application
Fear	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
picks	O
up	O
immediately	O
from	O
the	O
events	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
Ironsword	B-Application
where	O
the	O
knight	O
warrior	O
Kuros	O
had	O
just	O
defeated	O
the	O
evil	O
wizard	O
Malkil	O
from	O
the	O
peak	O
of	O
IceFire	O
Mountain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Pickford	O
brothers	O
designed	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
a	O
homage	O
to	O
Ultimate	O
Play	O
the	O
Game	O
's	O
(	O
Rare	O
's	O
former	O
incarnation	O
)	O
1983	O
ZX	O
Spectrum	O
title	O
Atic	B-Application
Atac	I-Application
;	O
they	O
also	O
drew	O
inspiration	O
for	O
gameplay	O
and	O
art	O
from	O
other	O
NES	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
Metroid	B-Device
,	O
Faxanadu	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Super	O
Mario	O
Bros	O
.	O
3	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
had	O
moderate	O
sales	O
,	O
though	O
not	O
as	O
good	O
as	O
its	O
predecessor	O
Ironsword	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
is	O
a	O
platforming	O
video	O
game	O
which	O
features	O
open-ended	O
gameplay	O
elements	O
similar	O
to	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Metroid	B-Device
and	O
Faxanadu	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
begin	O
the	O
game	O
with	O
three	O
lives	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	B-Application
ends	I-Application
when	O
all	O
lives	O
have	O
been	O
lost	O
;	O
unlike	O
the	O
previous	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
games	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
password	O
or	O
continue	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Kuros	I-Application
:	I-Application
Visions	I-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
immediately	O
after	O
the	O
events	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
previous	O
game	O
,	O
Ironsword	B-Application
:	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
II	O
,	O
when	O
Kuros	O
has	O
defeated	O
his	O
nemesis	O
,	O
the	O
evil	O
wizard	O
Malkil	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
peak	O
of	O
IceFire	O
Mountain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Malkil	O
then	O
holds	O
Kuros	O
prisoner	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	B-Application
ends	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Kuros	I-Application
:	I-Application
Visions	I-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
started	O
in	O
1990	O
,	O
when	O
,	O
after	O
strong	O
sales	O
with	O
Ironsword	B-Application
:	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
II	O
,	O
Rare	O
gave	O
Zippo	O
Games	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
direct	O
the	O
third	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
;	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
founders	O
,	O
Ste	O
and	O
John	O
Pickford	O
,	O
co-designed	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Pickford	O
brothers	O
came	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
Kuros	O
 '	O
disguises	O
of	O
knight	O
,	O
wizard	O
,	O
and	O
thief	O
as	O
an	O
homage	O
to	O
Ultimate	O
Play	O
the	O
Game	O
's	O
(	O
Rare	O
's	O
former	O
incarnation	O
)	O
1983	O
ZX	O
Spectrum	O
title	O
Atic	B-Application
Atac	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pickford	O
wanted	O
to	O
design	O
a	O
game	O
that	O
was	O
a	O
step	O
forward	O
from	O
most	O
Action	B-Application
RPGs	I-Application
for	O
the	O
NES	O
;	O
he	O
opted	O
for	O
nonlinear	O
gameplay	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
different	O
disguises	O
and	O
accompanying	O
abilities	O
would	O
allow	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
access	O
new	O
areas	O
of	O
the	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
graphics	O
were	O
then	O
drawn	O
with	O
Deluxe	B-Application
Paint	I-Application
and	O
then	O
translated	O
into	O
the	O
ROM	B-Protocol
manually	O
,	O
sprite-by-sprite	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
NES	O
hardware	O
required	O
precision	O
in	O
sprite	O
placements	O
;	O
this	O
was	O
different	O
from	O
what	O
Rare	O
did	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
to	O
place	O
each	O
pixel	O
of	O
the	O
graphics	O
sprites	O
on	O
graph	O
paper	O
with	O
marker	O
pens	O
and	O
then	O
tasked	O
people	O
to	O
type	O
the	O
code	O
into	O
the	O
ROM	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pickford	O
designed	O
the	O
"	O
Worm	O
"	O
boss	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
bosses	O
found	O
in	O
R-Type	B-Application
,	O
where	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
smaller	O
sprites	O
formed	O
a	O
snake	O
or	O
worm-like	O
enemy	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
he	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
ended	O
up	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
more	O
like	O
a	O
giant	O
floating	O
head	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pickford	O
drew	O
inspiration	O
from	O
the	O
thrones	O
in	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
3	I-Application
in	O
designing	O
the	O
final	O
boss	O
,	O
Malkil	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
easter	O
egg	O
reference	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
Dragon	B-Application
Warrior	I-Application
with	O
regards	O
to	O
the	O
princesses	O
Kuros	O
must	O
save	O
during	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
prompts	O
the	O
yes/no	O
response	O
again	O
-	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
but	O
thou	O
must	O
"	O
response	O
in	O
Dragon	B-Application
Warrior	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
received	O
preview	O
coverage	O
in	O
the	O
November1991	O
issue	O
of	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Power	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Kuros	I-Application
:	I-Application
Visions	I-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
sold	O
300,000	O
copies	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
30,000	O
copies	O
in	O
Europe	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
company	O
figures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
criticisms	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
included	O
frustrating	O
item-tracking	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
nonlinear	O
structure	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
fighting	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
continues	O
or	O
passwords	O
;	O
he	O
added	O
that	O
,	O
with	O
regard	O
to	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
continues	O
or	O
passwords	O
,	O
that	O
"	O
this	O
is	O
particularly	O
a	O
shame	O
because	O
Acclaim	O
reports	O
this	O
baby	O
's	O
about	O
twice	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
Ironsword	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
received	O
praise	O
from	O
Retro	O
Gamer	O
magazine	O
in	O
September2010	O
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
retrospective	O
on	O
the	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
third	O
installment	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
developer	O
Ste	O
Pickford	O
's	O
personal	O
favorite	O
,	O
despite	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
sell	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
predecessor	O
Ironsword	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
IronSword	B-Application
was	O
pretty	O
much	O
a	O
straight	O
sequel	O
for	O
a	O
game	O
dropped	O
in	O
our	O
lap	O
;	O
we	O
look	O
at	O
it	O
and	O
tried	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
with	O
some	O
improvements.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Pickford	O
added	O
that	O
,	O
while	O
he	O
could	O
have	O
done	O
better	O
with	O
both	O
Ironsword	B-Application
and	O
Wizards	O
&	O
Warriors	O
III	O
,	O
he	O
wished	O
he	O
would	O
have	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
latter	O
to	O
its	O
completion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Wizards	B-Application
&	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
III	I-Application
hinted	O
at	O
a	O
sequel	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
not	O
happened	O
.	O
</s>
